christmas caroling

this was just too cute. ryder singing and quinn playing the tambourine.....already starting their rock band:)

the tree

so we bundled up and went to the local middle school parking lot to pick out our beautiful christmas tree;) ha, can you believe this is the only way my kids have experienced getting a christmas tree, from a parking lot....who would have thunk:) well, we are experts now, and were in and out in about 15 minutes.

slug bug white vintage

jesse has been collecting reference for his bug series (which is by far my fav) and ryder loves going with and taking his own pictures (with his own digital camera, of course). we have also been playing a lot of slug bug......man, are there a ton of these cars in the city!

who me?

i walk away from the kitchen for one minute and this is what i come back to.....little miss curious with her hands in the mixing bowl:) great expression, huh:)

slumber party

my good friend laura and i decided it was time to have a mommy and kid sleepover at her house, oh my god, it was so much fun!! we are totally doing this again;) our boys have known each other since they were 1, so you can only imagine how much love there is! and quinn just adores toby, i think she may have a baby crush;)

our night consisted of playing, making gingerbread cookies (which we actually managed to burn, that's what happens when the girls start chatting and drinking wine), eating a delicious dinner, playing again, bath for three, bed time stories, nighty night (boys in one bed, the girls in the other), and then mommies got to chat and have yummy minced meat pies (i have never had these european delights, but wow, i think i had like 4), and a nice glass of wine! it was just wonderful and we all slept soundly!

here little piggy's! they had so much fun feeding them dinner. and quinn still has flour all over her dress from making cookies......good times!

outdoor play inside

the kids both love playing with water, pouring, measuring, mixing colors, hearing the sound of it, washing things, just endless amounts of fun! usually we do water play either outside, in the tub, or at someone else's house (haha), but i figured why not put a mat down and see what we can do inside. it was a hit, and they played for like 30 minutes (which is a very long time for the kids to play nicely together these days....that's another blog).

play date

ryder's little friend came over for an afternoon playdate. it was so nice to have a girl come over for a change. quinn was in HEAVEN!! she got to do all the girly things, like play with her dollys, dress up, sing, dance, it was just so sweet:)

the girls getting all dressed up

it was time to break out the mat and do a little break dancing. wow, some serious moves here!

pure talent here! oh, and notice he has a tutu on as well, dancing is so much more fun while in a tutu!

school tours again...ugh!

it's that time of year again! school tours have started for the coming school year, and we are in search for the "perfect" elementary school. it's been a bit discouraging, since we went through this last year and, well we all the the outcome of that, ryder stayed in preschool! so here we are again. it's been busy, overwhelming, and exciting all at the same time. we are looking at immersion schools (chinese, korean, spanish, italian), science magnum, montessori, and art driven schools. we are hopeful to get one of our 7 choices, but it's up to the "lottery" to decide that. we are also thinking maybe it's just time for us to leave the city, stretch our arms, take a deep breath of fresh clean air, and run free in the wilderness........we will see where the wind blows us:)

twinkle twinkle

quinn and i had a chill night, since ryder went to bed before her (a rare occasion). she was just so darn cute, and loves loves loves singing! this is her version of twinkle twinkle:)

sick kids:(

well my perfect night turned south around 1130pm. quinn woke up with a fever and the kids have been sick ever since! fevers and cough.....the doctor is calling it the "flu", whatever that means! i am hopeful they will be better tomorrow........

BOO!!!

my good friend, laura, and i brought the kiddos out to the east bay for halloween. we stayed at her parents house and did our trick or treating in the little neighborhood right there. it was so quiet and peaceful, and just perfect!! we played some fun games, ate some candy, ran around the house giggling, ate more candy, then brushed teeth, read stories, and passed out! well, laura and i stayed up, had a nice glass of wine by the fire......it was a great night:)

bobbing for apples....oh the fun:)

little punkin.....this was quinn's 1st official year of 'trick or treating', she has so much fun! it was like the cutest thing ever!!!

these two were just hilarious. the amount of excitement and silly talk between the two, had laura and i laughing the entire night!

carving the pumpkins

is this cute or what! jesse finally got a night off, so we carved our pumpkins! ryder had such a nice time with his daddy.

what's in there......

oooooooooooohhhhhhhhhhhhh.

the middle one is the one ryder drew.......isn't it the coolest!!

quinn turns 2

wow, where did the 2 years even go? we have officially hung up our baby shoes here, and now are entering the stage of the independent toddler! quinn is so fun, has a very silly sense of humor, she is super curious, loves to sing and dance, and play with her babies, and her favorite thing is, to do whatever ryder is doing!!

birthday hug from her big brother.

i knew my daughter would be obsessed with fart sounds!!

look at how she is sitting.....what a big girl!!

she blew them out in one breath. ryder was so impressed!

our pretty girl......and her pocket babies (the small little blurry things in her hand). ryder saw this picture and said "awww, quinn looks so happy there", it was so darn cute.

puddin face

field trip to aratas farm

we went to aratas farm in half moon bay with ryder's school. tons to do there like, pony rides, petting zoo, train ride, the super awesome hay maze, oh and we got our pumpkins;)

i guess these are the new "smile pretty for the picture" faces.

riding the train at the farm

lost in the maze, seriously, we were in there for an hour!!

this one's for abby

take me to the river

we managed to stop by the river on the way home. it was like 75 and sunny, so it was perfect for a quick little dip.

no suit for this little california boy!!

quinn is always content just digging in the sand, it's so peaceful watching her!

i'll drink to that

so this is actually a picture of jesse's painted wine barrel at the DeLoach vineyard (which is why we went there), but what can you do when the bemis ladies are drinking wine.........hahaha!!

we took grandmama up north

on wednesday we picked up ryder from school and headed up north to monte rio (a little town on the russian river) to stay in a cabin with the bemis/madson ladies. the cabin was perfect, and we all had a wonderful time!

the kids were just chillin at DeLoach vineyard. they were so great here, and just the entire trip!!

quinn riding the dog

ryder riding the dog

aahh, nothing better than hanging with grandmama (well, and chewing gum).

bbbbaaaaahhhhhh! this little farm was such a hit at the vineyard.

grandmama!!!!

a little floor time with grandmama! she came to visit last week, and we all had such a wonderful time. it was full of laughter, eating, playing, and just lots of loving!!! we just love that girl:)

happy birthday daddy

homemade german chocolate cake, it was totally worth all the sweat and tears that went into making this rich delight.

good job daddy!!!

dewalt power drill= bad ass (bemis family really knows how to make this man smile).

hardly strictly bluegrass

oh yeah baby, nothing better than free bluegrass in golden gate park:) i packed up the kids on saturday evening to go and listen to one of my favorite artists, gillian welch (oh, she is so lovely), and the show was just so chill. although we didn't manage to stay for the entire set, i couldn't have picked better people to dance with!

young 5 field trip

we went on a filed trip with ryder's school to elkis ranch in half moon bay. it's a real working farm, which is worthy of a field trip for us city kids!! it was just gorgeous, and so fun to see all the kids play with the farm animals, dig in dirt, jump on hay bails, plant seeds, and just enjoy the fresh air!!

beautiful shot of the gardens and the farm up above

ryder is digging for worms. we didn't find any, but it was fun looking.

ride em cowboys:)

quinn thought this was like the most fun ever. ryder was sitting below her and she was up above, and they we just swinging and twirling around........a tire swing, sometimes simple is just better!!

words of wisdom

uncle josh came to visit us this week. it wasn't a long stay, but it sure was a memorable one. here he is playing some games with the kids.....they are oh so captivated by his "super cool uncle powers". but the most memorable part is when he taught ryder the old "pull my finger" trick. oh, ryder got it, and demonstrated it in like 5 seconds (how guys can just do that is still baffling to me), and now he will get upset if he forgets to have someone pull his finger. it is hilarious, but i am a little concerned about this embarrassing me down the road! oh well, it's worth all the giggling around here.......thanks uncle josh:)

baby lily is finally here!

polly and jake welcomed their beautiful daughter to the world on september 22. her name is lily gaëlle mangerson. we can't wait to meet her:)

weekend away!

so to celebrate our 8th anniversary, jesse surprised me with a lovely weekend up near sonoma at the gorgeous vineyard audelssa. we had a private wine tasting with the owner and stayed in a cute little cottage right on the vineyard, and the views were breath taking!! well, what can i say....my husband hit that one out of the park:) so, anyways.......aunt tessa came to hang with the kids, man, were they excited!! their time together consisted of eating lots of popsicles, park outings, pedicures, tattoos, and the family favorite purple "alligator pancakes". needless to say, tessa went home quite exhausted, but it looks like everyone had a fabulous weekend:) THANKS A MILLION AUNT TESSA, WE JUST LOVE YOU!!!

a trip to the garden center

ryder went on a field trip with his young5 group to the local garden center. they all got to pick out something to plant, ryder went with this lovely yellow flower (i can't think of the name at the moment) and just loves to take care of it. he is having a blast with all his buddies, and is definitely impressing his teachers (he managed to get $1 off his teacher the other day because he impressed her with his math skills......hmmm, what do you think that taught him?)

breakfast bar

just having a bite to eat before school.

brush-a brush-a brush-a

this is one of quinn's favorite pass times.